Training Naked
OK, now that I have your attention, I’d like to discuss the idea of you doing your weight-training (Law #4 Lift Heavy Things) with as few “joint support gizmos” (wrist wraps, tape, lifting belts, etc.) as possible. Maybe you already do, but if not…
By now you know how I feel about shoes in general – and workout shoes in particular. Along with grains and statins, they make my list of the top ten mistakes in the history of human health. High-tech, “comfortable” and higher-heeled shoes are probably the cause of more bad backs, bad knees, pulled muscles, hamstring issues, torn cartilage, tendonitis and myriad other lower- and mid-body afflictions than any other single factor. The reason is this: the more we’ve unburdened the important (critical) small muscles of our feet with “forefoot motion control”, “heel stabilizers”, and “rear-foot shock absorbers” – in other words, the more we’ve put our feet in these supportive and restrictive casts – the more we’ve disrupted the intricate biomechanical balance that otherwise naturally arises from using our feet unshod as designed by evolution. And, as a result, the more we can find ourselves on the slippery slope to injury and misery.
As we’ve discussed many times before on MDA, it’s the small muscles of the feet – and both the strength and the sensory feedback they provide – that begin to orchestrate the symphony of balanced movement that leads to functional lower-body strength and power. It’s also those small muscles that ought to be telling us when it’s time to quit doing what we’re doing. Instead, we often bypass that haptic feedback and burden the larger muscles and joints further down (or up) the line, setting ourselves up for much bigger – and potentially longer lasting – problems. While this concept applies to every aspect of foot use from standing to walking to lifting heavy things, nowhere is it more evident than with runners – my former self included. Balance and symmetry are tossed aside, along with discretion, in the pursuit of more garbage miles. My own injury issues (osteoarthritis, tendonitis, hip flexor problems) escalated linearly over the years as I went from being able to handle “only” running 35 miles a week in my Chuck Taylors and Onitsuka Tigers in the late 60’s-early 70’s to eventually running over 100 miles a week in my high-tech cushioned Nike LDVs. I drank the Nike Kool-Aid and I’m still dealing with the physical fallout 30 years later.
I was reminded yet again of the propriety of going barefoot or wearing minimalist shoes two weeks ago when I spent three days in Manhattan representing The Primal Blueprint and The Primal Blueprint Cookbook at Book Expo America (a huge publishing trade show). In an effort to look corporate and respectable, I found myself wearing my expensive “Sunday-go-to-meetin” shoes all day for the show (standing, mostly) and then walking 20 blocks back to my hotel. After having spent the past few years barefoot in my house, training, hiking and playing in my Vibram Fivefingers or my Feelmax Pankas, and just wearing minimalist “mock mocs” to the occasional business meeting, my feet have gotten much stronger and are used to having little or no support. Yet after binding them in my “ergonomically formed” dress shoes for three solid days, I was literally limping home to my hotel room each night, barely able to take a step without feeling like I was out of alignment everywhere. The message was loud and clear yet again.
But here’s where I’m going with this. Knowing (Grokking) what we know about feet and shoes, doesn’t it make sense that what applies to the small muscles of the feet, might also apply to small muscles in the rest of the body. I see people at the gym all the time with wrist wraps, tight Velcro lifting gloves, taped wrists and ankles, knee braces, weight-lifting belts and all other manner of “support gear.” I guess the idea is to be able to “safely” push or pull more weight without stressing or injuring the delicate tendons, small muscles, cartilage, etc. in the joints. I get what they’re trying to do, but it’s antithetical to true strength and power. In fact, use of this sort of support gear bypasses those same important small muscles and tendons in fingers and forearms we should be working as enthusiastically as we work those larger beach muscles. Furthermore, it’s the small muscles that ought to be telling us when it’s time to stop, or that we’ve hit our “max” (or even that we should take a few days off). Bypassing that critical feedback only places a greater burden on larger muscles and joints – or calls into play unusual or unsafe “workarounds” as the body intuitively tries (without our even knowing it) to recruit fibers from other areas to perform the intended work. The result is often a biomechanical imbalance that simply transfers the load to an inappropriate muscle or area, often leading to injury. In my own case, I re-learned this after I foolishly chose to go for a PR on the bench press some years ago. Because I have small “runners’ wrists” I would wrap my wrists tightly with the leather Velcro band that extended from my lifting gloves each time I trained heavy on the bench. This “small muscle/wrist bypass” enabled me to eventually achieve a one rep max of 275 at the age of 53 (I weighed 164). Not bad for an old skinny marathoner, but in the process I developed a rotator cuff injury and almost tore a pec muscle because I was doing more than my overall fitness was capable of handling in a balanced fashion. I should have used my wrist weakness – my weakest link at the time – as the ultimate indicator of what was prudent.
I see this same sort of thing happening a lot in the gym. Guys are squatting 300 pounds with a weight belt protecting their back and/or abs, when maybe they should instead be using 175 and doing a few more reps without “protection.” They should be developing acute proprioceptive and kinesthetic awareness around the lower back and abs, rather than blocking those sensations out. Similarly, if you have to tape your wrists because your grip is keeping you from completing that last pull-up, maybe you should be working as equally on your grip or forearm strength as you are on your lats. If you have to tape your wrists to do a handstand push-up, maybe you should back up a few skill levels and go through the progression that includes inclined push-ups first. Small muscles should dictate the max weights you do, and you shouldn’t move on to bigger weights until all parts of you are ready.
This is why I feel so strongly that bodyweight exercises are the ideal way to train small muscles as well as those beach muscles. Unwrapped and naked. Grip strength, balance, bilateral symmetry, haptic feedback, kinesthetic awareness and core function are all integral parts of Primal Fitness life skills. To circumvent them in the interest of building bigger biceps won’t serve you in the long run.
Stay tuned for The Primal Blueprint Fitness program, slated to drop early next month (for free to newsletter subscribers). It’s based around functional fitness and a few simple, balanced, full-body movements. Thanks for reading, everyone!
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
Hahahahahaha… Mark you are waaay too awesome!
I remember coming across the comment with someone asking for more on this law. I wanted the same so thanks a lot!
Of course there is alway simplicity… I enjoy pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as my workout for this law! It’s all ya need
Word.
Very true… Bodyweight exercises are fantastic if you know what you are doing.
Love the natural motion of them.
Thanks for a great post, Mark. I agree with you 100% and have always instructed my clients to workout with as minimal gadget support as possible. I hate seeing guys at the gym use wrist straps to do pull ups. If they need the straps then maybe they are not ready for the load they are trying to move. As for me, I have been wearing my fivefingers for a few months now and have seen a gradual reversal of a leg injury I sustained from running way too much a few years ago. Those things are brilliant!
After playing competitive indoor volleyball for about 14 years, I couldn’t agree with you more. A lot of players injure their ankles early on…start wearing active ankle guards, and then knee injuries result. After you tape up your knees, your hips start to hurt…this was my experience at least.
I played with chronic tendonitis for several years until I graduated college…sooo painful.
I decided to start running barefoot (in Vibrams) last year (a couple years out of school), and my knee pain is virtually gone.
Beach seems to be the way to go…you always play barefoot, and no hard surfaces to land on
Good call. My next pair of weightlifting gloves will be minus wrist straps.
Maybe you should just get rid of the gloves too. They can impede growth in your grip strength. I use nothing extra when lifting and am currently at 180 par shrugs and deadlifting 315.
I agree 100% with the minimalistic weight lifting advice. It is basically what every real powerlifting / olympic weightlifting coach teaches. Rippetoe has a whole section in Starting Strength all about it.
My favorite lift is deadlift and I get asked everytime I do it, “hey man, don’t you hurt your back since you don’t use a belt?” My response is always, “deadlift is a back exercise, how do I strengthen it when I have a belt on?”
You do realize Rippetoe is pro-belt, right?
It seems like I’ve taken your advice even before you gave it to me.
I haven’t used a weight belt in years for the same reasons you give here.
I just lift less, properly.
I’m lucky that I’m able to workout barefoot because I train in my garage.
I’ve never used straps for chin ups (too complicated) and I don’t use gloves.
I do have incredible calluses on my hands, though.
My garage gym has been the greatest training facility i’ve ever used.
Something very Primal about working out with no shirt and no shoes.
Keep those Calluses strong!
Mark,
I completley agree. I lift weight with very little support. It makes me more aware of my other muscles.
I do use weight lifting gloves minus straps to keep the calluses at a minimum, mostly b/c I am a girl and we don’t like that sort of thing
I train at home barefoot, but when I train at the gym I train in the Nike Free 3.0′s. They are not totally like barefoot since they have arch support, but they are as close as I can get w/o breaking the gym rules.
How do you feel about the Nike Free’s vs. the Vibrams?
No input on the shoes questions, but I have to say that I’m female and I haven’t used gloves since I started lifting again in January 2009. I keep the calluses under control with a Ped Egg. Dustless climbers chalk is smuggled in with me in my gym bag (lucky you to be able to train at home). Then again, I used to be a gymnast, so calluses have always been little badges of honor to me. For the gnarliest hands, check out competitive rowers (no glove option there and the females are all Amazons).
I was a rower for 8 years and still have the calluses to show for it!
I love working out in the VFFs. My Nike Free are okay, but are second choice in my opinion.
Barefoot,
Rippetoe is a huge advocate of belt and lifting shoes, not really sure where you got the impression otherwise…
That said, I agree with Rippetoe that belt and shoes are ok for lifting — it is a sport and some sport requires equipment
Lifting shoes for sure. Unless you’re trying to build up to a monster weight, I’d skip the belt too.
Please let me know when Vibrams Five Fingers comes out in a 14EE.
I wear size 15s and the KSO 48 fits me. 48 on the KSO is larger than on the other models for some reason – check their sizing chart online.
Same – I wear 15s and have VFF KSO 47s that fit perfectly.
Though, I’m not sure what width I need.
They basically do – I wear 14EE and my sprints are 46s, they fit great.
Mark,
Could it be that your body just wasn’t conditioned to walk “in those shoes on that terrain”? There’s a whole city full of people that walk there every day.
Best,
Jeff
lol!
Great post!
As someone who has to wrap his feet up in those torture devices called dress shoes for work every day, I feel for you. And people wonder why I take my shoes off as soon as I get to my car!
Any chance you could recommend some minimalist shoes that are okay to wear at the office and won’t cost an arm and a leg? I’ve been thinking of just cutting the heel off a pair of the shoes to see how that works out, but the rubber is still pretty stiff with the rest of it, so I don’t think that would work too well.
Thanks!
Jim
I wear TOMS Shoes to my office:
http://www.toms.com/mens?view=all&gclid=CKiP9KCJlqICFROdnAodh3oiFg
Check out this link at bithdayshoes.com for dress like shoe called the Terra Plana
http://birthdayshoes.com/terra-plana-vivo-barefoot-oaks
Beyond the link I don’t know much about them so maybe someone else could chime in.
You might consider Terra Plana shoes, but they are a bit pricey. I picked up a pair of black Aquas (on a discount) and wear them at the office every day. At home, it’s VFFs or barefoot for me.
I’ve been trying to find some of these myself. I’ve looked at the Terra Plana, but frankly, they are ugly as snot. Someone could get rich here if they recognized there is an opportunity in the market for this type of dress shoe.
I wear my black Vibram KSOs to work in a business casual environment. To be even more stealth, I’ve heard of “blacking out” the KSOs with black sharpie or carefully removing the embroidered toe logo and popping off the glued-on logos on the side. KSO Trek and Moc are made of kangaroo leather and are a little dressier-looking too.
You were in NYC and you didn’t tell a brotha?!?
I see how it is…
As a runner, I can’t imagine running barefoot very far or very long. I have seen an occasional barefoot runner in marathons. While I am running slower, and no more marathons, i still like to run, especially with my running group for the comraderie it provides. I do like the idea of barefoot running and the benefits it provides. Last year I switched to Newton shoes. They claim that there shoe actually mimics barefoot running as it forces you to strike on your forefoot as opposed to your heal. Newton Running encourages running on your midfoot/forefoot. While they took getting used to, i really like them.
I still say you and many others are missing the point. Bottom line: a shoe is a shoe is a shoe. A shoe is a crutch. Even Vibrams are guilty of this. I can run a lot further in vibrams than I can completely barefoot because the shoe blocks the signals the ground needs to send to my brain. I bet if you took a survey 90% of vibram first time users had sever calf pain after there first run because they force you to run properly but they still eliminate the proper feedback needed with the ground. Honestly for me I think the best thing about barefoot running is watching my feet transform back to their correct shape. I think by the end of this summer my toes will be perfectly spread out and my big toe won’t be curving in from stupid feet coffins!
how did you like the newton running shoes? i find them to be much more bulkier than the vff’s so hard to compare.. ot that or being barefoot..
has it helped your form at all?
Converse Chuck Taylors and some chalk are all you need!
Chuck Taylors were good enough for Rocky!
Mark,
this article is really exemplary, there is reasoning behind every sentence and the message is clear throughout.
I think it should be read by everyone interested in any type of training. Bodyweight exercises are the best approach exactly because of the role of these ‘small muscles’. Too bad that many people are obsessed with the fake and unhealthy bodybuilder look. Those who are wise can still reconsider.
Great article! Both on the shoes and the straps and bands.
You are only as strong as your weakest link. Why would you bypass your weak link with a lumbar band? If your back can’t bear the load, there’s no way it will be able to do it in real life situations or in athletic context.
The only thing I could agree upon are straps for better grip doing deadlifts, e.g. for a soccer player. He doesn’t really need the strong grip.
Thanks
What is he losing by developing his grip strength? I don’t see the connection.
I don’t set extra time aside to develop my grip, I just exercise “naked” and the grip comes along with it.
When deadlifting heavy I use an alternating grip, no straps.
“for a soccer player. He doesn’t really need the strong grip.”
what about for throw in’s or, better yet, jersey grabbing ; )
damn, I forgot about the jersey grabbing…
He’s not losing anything by developping grip strength, but from an training efficiency point of view, he could benefit from the straps.
Mark,
See p. 78-80 of Pavel’s Power to the People (link below). It includes info on shoes but also on gloves and the result of blunted manual proprioceptive feedback.
http://books.google.com/books?id=6vJA2RXhg8YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=power+to+the+people+pavel&hl=en&ei=0CgRTODmDYP78Aa_rej0BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=gloves&f=false
Keep up the good work,
Cam
A logical construction on your whole philosophy of ergonomic exercise. Joint and small muscle strength are absolutely important to overall whole-body fitness. But, I wonder if this will extend beyond moving weight (body-weight or additional weight).
Grok was a hunter-gatherer, and I imagine he encountered other wanderers chasing the same prey. Would Grok rely simply on his un-aided joint strength, if he has figured that wrapping his wrists would help lessen damage when he threw a punch? I haven’t read anything on this site about boxing, or heavy-bag excercises. I assume it’s because Mark doesn’t excercise in that way. But I think physical combat is very primal – whether it’s play or hostile. How do people feel about gear or support in martial arts, or even a round with a heavy bag?
I think it would be helpful to train self-defense “naked” too, at least once in awhile to learn how to hit with proper structural alignment. Wouldn’t want to break your hand after a poorly thrown, bare-fisted cross in a real fight, right?
As a I agree with 100% of your article I have to admit that despite the back problems high heels cause for the ladies that look pretty darn awesome in them.
Ok, I normally love your posts Mark, but I have to side with Rippetoe on this one, at least as far as a weightlifting belt is concerned. When used properly (only once you can squat a good amount of weight without one, say 250 lbs for 5 reps for your average male athlete), a weight lifting belt does not protect or support your muscles or joints. It provides proprioceptive feedback for your abs to contract harder against, thus increasing your stability and trunk support under load. It should only be worn for your heavy work. But, if a good belt is used correctly it does not work by “supporting” your back or anything like that.
Everything else, yeah, spot on. Ditch the gloves, wraps, etc…But a belt does have a place.
Haha – So about 30 minutes before I saw this most recent post, I told a friend of mine about my new paleo lifestyle and to check out MarksDailyApple.com on her lunch hour. I can only imagine the look on her face when she’ll read “Training Naked” as the title of the first post!
Hopefully she’ll continue to read on. Otherwise I have some serious explaining to do! Haha!At the very least it will be a great ice breaker into the website though.
Nonetheless, thanks for all of the wonderful information and motivation that MDA provides on a consistent basis! It is much appreciated!
If lifting heavier weights is your goal, belts are useful, but then you should always use them. If overall athletic performance or health is your goal, I don’t see the need to use them.
Let your weakest link (as you say, it can be proprioceptive) guide you for dosage… Your nervous system gets additional proprioceptive input, but if you play e.g. basketball without the belt, you nervous system will feel, well naked…
The point is that a lifting belt allows you to get stronger faster than you could without it. The strength you build will be used in whatever particular athletic endeavor you choose, even if you don’t bring the barbell + belt along with you. Saying that your nervous system will feel naked without a belt is silly, at best. Do your legs also feel like jelly just because you didn’t bring a barbell to squat with onto the basketball courts?
Nick is right on this one … if I’m using a bar for squats, I’m using a belt to lock down my midsection for safety.
Rip Rocks!
I’m gonna play devil’s advocate for a moment:
A weight belt isn’t solely for the purpose of protecting the back and abs. They are highly effective in correcting posture under strenuous loads and help the wearer perform the valsalva:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva_maneuver True, spending time working on good form helps in naked lifting, but when the bar is trying to crush you around 300lbs +, the goal is to get it up without injury.
I do crossfit, and I try to wear my vibrams as much as possible. I occasionally powerlift and olympic lift in them, but there is a point at which a belt and proper weightlifting shoes make sense.
As far as Grok is concerned, I suspect lifting stones more closely approximate our paleolithic weight routine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifting_stone
I would disagree with the belt issue. http://www.70sbig.com/?p=884
I was actually just about to post this very same link, Jon Stevens! Beat me to it. Info by Justin Lascek and Gary Gibson are what led me to purchase a lifting belt in the first place.
I apologize for the double post. I would just like to add these two additional links regarding lifting belts for anyone who is interested:
http://www.70sbig.com/?p=891
http://www.70sbig.com/?p=1594
Well said!
bodyweight training is much more natural to your body in my opinion and yield better results in my experience.
As a competitive powerlifter I have to use gear like wraps, belts and even supportive suits to be competitive (they help me lift more and everyone else uses them). That being said I much prefer to “train naked” because it feels better and helps bring up those weak spots.
One the best decisions I made was to do all my kettlebell and body weight work bare foot.
oops…I accidentally posted my original comment as a reply to someone else’s comment. My mistake.
Here it is again:
Haha – So about 30 minutes before I saw this most recent post, I told a friend of mine about my new paleo lifestyle and to check out MarksDailyApple.com on her lunch hour. I can only imagine the look on her face when she’ll read “Training Naked” as the title of the first post!
Hopefully she’ll continue to read on. Otherwise I have some serious explaining to do! Haha!At the very least it will be a great ice breaker into the website though.
Nonetheless, thanks for all of the wonderful information and motivation that MDA provides on a consistent basis! It is much appreciated
I agree with the weight belt, but not for every lift it should only be used when performing very heavy lifts (scaled to ability) or when going for a PR. basicaly if you can do more than 5 reps with the weight you dont need the belt.
Mark,
what is your stance on high top chuck taylors? I wanted to buy Vibrams but they were sold out everywhere at the time so i just got high top chucks. There is plenty of vibrams around now but I dont have the money. I love lifting in chucks, squatting in them really lets me sit far back and drive off the heels.
Could be worse but I’m not a big supporter either.
If you are using them for the big lifts (squats, deads, presses) then Chucks are great.
A lot of powerlifters recommend them in training, especially if you use a wide squat stance as they allow you to “push out” on your feet without risking rolling your ankle.
I can’t find it now, but at one point I read someone’s blog post, a review of Vibrams I thought, where he had posted a photo of the bare feet of a tribal dude who had spent most of his life barefoot next to a photo of a modern dude whose feet had been in shoes. The modern man’s feet were the SHAPE of the shoes, with toes all squished together, etc. whereas the tribal guy’s feet had toes all widely spread apart and looked healthier and more stable. I noticed that my feet look more like the modern man’s feet – my baby toe tucks under the one next to it, probably due to a lifetime of wearing shoes (despite wearing flip flops as often as possible).
So my question is this: I’ve got two kids and we live in a pretty urban area. What kind of minimalist footwear exists for these kids, to make sure their feet grow healthy and their bodies grow strong, but will protect them from bits of glass on the roads, etc?
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/flat-feet-treatment/
Good question on the options for kids. I’ll have to look into that. I’d say let ‘em go barefoot as much as possible for starters.
Yeah, those are the feet photos! Thanks for that link.
Right now (summer) when they’re not barefoot I have my kids in open-toed sandals with minimal cushioning. When it’s cold they’re in skate shoes (Vans-type) for the generous toe box and minimal cushioning. But it’d be great if there were something closer to what nature intended, for wearing to school, etc.
Shoes for kids … barefoot style.
Have you heard of Soft Star Shoes?
This is a great little local company, and they have shoes designed for small children so their feet can develop right. They make everything themselves by hand, and will custom make to a customer’s directions. If someone loses one shoe, they will make another just like it!
Website:
http://www.softstarshoes.com/index.cfm
Check out http://www.softstarshoes.com for minimalist kids footwear, it’s what we bought for our 7 & 5 year old.
I got my (three year old) son a pair of Feelmax Niesas, and a pair of TerraPlana Rookys. Both are good shoes, although the Feelmax shoes are the “more minimal” of them.
Try to get one of those, I guess it’s easier to get the TerraPlana in the US, because the Feelmax come from Finland.
You might want to look at Soft Star Moccasins — they make several different ‘barefoot’ type shoes for children, and you can customize them for fit and design preferences.
Thx for the Soft Star recommendations. I think, since we’re on a tight budget, I’ll try my hand at sewing some at home. Hope it works!
“Train Naked” keyword here is “train”.
your everyday workout goal should be development.
Save the weight belt for competition days.
If you don’t compete, just lose the belt or save it for the occational max day.
I used to do weighted pullups and deadlifts with straps. I thought I was super “strong”, but felt like an idiot when I started Crossfit and my grip was the first thing to give out during my WOD’s.
i came in here expecting naked people. i am not as disappointed as i thought i’d be….
My vibes split a seam recently, so at the gym I donned some socks for the treadmill (trained in flip flops but that place is dirty). Manager came up to me and asked me if I forgot my shoes. Said there are other things you can do etc. I asked if she was kicking me off and she didn’t say so exactly. I said i prefer to run this way. She said “even Nike free’s have ankle support”. I laughed and said if it made her feel better I’d sign a waiver but this is the way I run. If we stopped supporting our ankles, our ankles might start supporting us!”
Was funny.
That’s a good one! I will keep it in my cache of witty barefooting remarks =]